Crossroads
17 Jan 2018MMMMMalcolm
Personal Log: Commander Kay WantzI found a nice ringed planet to temporarily settle in. The resource extraction site was rated hazardous, but that didn’t matter, I powered down the ship to auxiliary power only. Add to that our cargo hold was empty; as far as pirates were concerned we did not exist and if we did we were insignificant. Malcolm was busy laundering The Club assets. I was monitoring Galnet broadcasts to see how far we would have to run.
Galnet Special Report:
Two plasma bombs were detonated on Firsoff Orbital killing fifteen and injuring thirty two. The first bomb was located in the guest wing of Ahaut Front headquarters. The second bomb detonated on their private landing pad located on the outer surface of the station. Authorities are investigating, but they believe an unknown assassin infiltrated the headquarters intent on killing a local war hero and his co-pilot; Commanders Ikem Abaez and Crystal Cross. Preliminary reports indicate the commanders were meeting with Colonel Gilbert at the time of the attack. When faction security prevented the assassin’s escape, he detonated the second device located on his ship, preventing his capture and destroying the pad. Among the dead are faction leader Dexter Gilbert, his second in command Captain James Hines, and eleven members of their personal elite guard, Commander Ikem Abaez, and Commander Crystal Cross. Those injured included dock workers, security personnel, emergency personnel, and pilots. All the injured have been taken to local hospitals and are expected to recover. Despite the system being at war, none of the other factions have come forward to claim responsibility.
That was reassuring. A report so close to the truth meant the authorities saw what we wanted them to see and had no clue what was really going on. Plasma bombs left very little evidence behind, so we had a little breathing room. I switched off Galnet and shook my head.
I thought once I returned from the Black I was finished running.
Guess you thought wrong.
'Shut Up.'
It's gonna take more than a three year jaunt in the Black to heal a broken heart; especially since you blame yourself.
'Shut Up."
He was your best friend, your wing-mate, your protector, your lover, and your husband; no fly by night street rat can replace that.
'SHUT UP!'
But I was right. I rescued the puppy. Now, it was time to let someone else adopt him.
I swung around in the captain’s chair to face Malcolm. He was staring into the screen of the black-market Galnet laptop. I stared at him, my thoughts conflicted.
“How’s it coming?” I asked.
“Great! I’m almost done.” Malcolm replied. He was more excited than a kid on Christmas. “I changed the registered name of the Anaconda from ‘Warm Embrace’ to ‘Breathless’ and swapped out the ship’s computer with one that’s been wiped clean. That should throw off any immediate tails tracking us through the ship.
I hacked the dock records of the station storing the other ships and transferred their ownership. I prepared new computers for them as well. We will have to swap the units, but as long as no one manually accesses the ship logs before then, we will be fine.
The hard part has been the credits. I back-tracked from the credits that were allocated to me as living expenses to locate the source but I haven’t been able to crack the encryption yet.”
I rolled my eyes. He knew how I felt about criminal activity.
What are you talking about? YOU smuggled in the plasma bombs, the doctored ship drives, and the illegal Galnet computer. Are you sure he knew?
Anyway, here he was brazenly breaking the law again, like I wasn't even there. Plus, I couldn’t, for the life of me, understand why he felt the need to do so.
“How much do you have squirreled away?”
“A little over a million credits, but my cracking algorithm should be done soon.”
“Don’t you think that’s enough? With a fleet of six ships we could easily earn more.”
“That’s just it, we have our own fleet. A fleet requires maintenance. A million credits will disappear real fast.” The laptop in front of him beeped. Malcolm looked at the screen and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Now if we had, say five hundred billion credits that would be a solid start.” A huge grin covered his face.
“No that would be suicidal. And I'm not going to be a part of it. You want to get yourself killed, fine. But, don't bring me and my family down with you.”
“Relax, I’m not going to take it all. One tenth of a percent should be enough. And it shouldn’t attract too much attention.” He turned back to the screen. “In just the few seconds we’ve been talking twenty times that has been transferred into the source account.” He tapped on the keyboard. “Done. I transferred five hundred million to the expense account and dated the transaction some five days ago. Then, I transferred it again to this encrypted credit chip.
That's how you make five hundred million credits disappear. We are now owners of a fully financed fleet.”
“No, you are the owner of a fully financed fleet. I don’t think I figure into the equation anymore.” I said it but I didn’t want it to be true. I held Malcolm’s confused gazed.
“What are you talking about? I couldn't have done any of this without you. You’re my friend. Anything I have is yours.”
“We’re associates with benefits. We're not friends.” This must have been what they meant when they said the truth hurts. “And I have my own ship. You don’t have anything I can't get elsewhere on my own. Now that you’re free, why should I hang around any longer?”
I tried to tell you not to get involved with this guy in the store. But you were so horny you just ignored me. Then, when you were home for Thanksgiving, I said, 'Don't let your bitter mother chase you back to this guy. You barely know him.' But did you listen? Noooo.
Malcolm looked dejected. He weakly opened his mouth to respond. I cut us both off.
“Tell me something unique you learned about me since we’ve been together. ”
He sat there, mouth agape. He looked back at the laptop, tapped on a few keys, and then closed the device. There was a long pause before he answered.
“Alright. You’re as tough as military grade hull plating. You’re equally comfortable in remlok suits or battle armor. You can subdue guys three times your size with or without a weapon. You could probably take down an Anaconda with a Vulture. I haven’t seen it, but I wouldn’t put it past you.
Yet that’s not the real you. That’s just a facade you created to protect the real you from getting lost in the 'verse. The real you is drop dead gorgeous. You paint your nails red, or blue, or black. You prefer heels over mag-boots; a gown over slacks. You’re a daddy’s girl and you're proud of it.
And you’re scared. Ever since you lost your husband, you've found that your well-crafted armor has cracks in it. You’re attracted to me. You keep telling yourself you shouldn't be. I’m not the stable, calculating planner that he was. I’m a wild, think on the fly, free spirit. You may be more than attracted to me, and that scares you.”
He was so handsome and perceptive. I both loved and hated when he did that. Reads me. Actually sees me. I felt both important and naked at the same time. And he was right; it scared me. Around him I always felt so exposed; so out of control. It was infuriating and intoxicating and frustrating and conflicting. But, when a woman finds a man so attentive, she thinks long and hard before she discards him; especially when she just got back from a three year trip mourning the death of her husband. So, I submitted.
“Then you know how freaked out I am right now. I won’t be an accomplice to any illegal activity...”
Anymore
"...anymore."
I watched him closely as he leaned back in his seat with a smug grin on his face. “What do you plan to do; mine, explore, haul cargo?”
He only smiled broader. “Oh I don’t know. I guess I’ll fly into Abraham Lincoln and swap the current ship computers with the black-market ones.” He paused then added, “I sure could use your help.”
“I’m glad you think this is funny.” He could be such a child sometimes. I glared at him.
“Look, beyond securing these ships, I’m not sure what I’m gonna do next. I know you hate that, but that’s just the way it is. I figure I'll just enjoy being free with the most beautiful bounty hunter in the ‘verse as my co-pilot.
I told you I want to find my parents. But, I don't know where to begin.
I did create a mission board on Galnet. It looks like we got a couple hits. Look at your system computer.”
Armed Wanderers Bulletin Board
- Assassinate Faction Leader - Pegasi Sector
- Locate a lost ship - HIP 104815
I turned to the holo-projection at my station. "I don't like either one." I preferred the strait forward gentleman's agreement of the bounty hunt. I'm the good guy; you're the bad guy. May the best man or woman win. Too many unknown variables make me nervous.
"Well, let's get the fleet situated, then decide."
I didn't answer. I wasn’t completely satisfied, but it was a start; for the time being. I powered up ‘Breathless’, and laid in a course for Sol.